


The Truth About Anxiety

by youthoughtyouknew



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Cute, Fluff, Gen, Height Differences, kinda fluff anyway, logan kind of admits to himself that he has emotions, sides in the morning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:28:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22374931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youthoughtyouknew/pseuds/youthoughtyouknew
Summary: The Sides make a surprising discovery.
Relationships: none really but I guess you can interpret it how you like
Comments: 15
Kudos: 126





	The Truth About Anxiety

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [this post](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/552931) by voidsides. 



> Just a cute, slightly fluffy oneshot starring our favourite boys. Sorry in advance if this is OOC!

There was a certain order to the Sides. And by “order”, one meant “height range”.

Logan had run mental calculations in his head, but that really wasn’t necessary, since it was pretty obvious that they weren’t all the same size. Patton was the shortest, reaching around five foot ten. Then Logan himself, at a nice six feet, followed by Roman with a height of around six foot one and a half.

And then there was Virgil, the undeniable tallest. He stood at six foot three when slouching, by Logan’s estimation. Standing straight, he was probably closer to six foot five. If Roman lived up to the term “standing tall”, Virgil embodied the words “intimidating presence”.

Until one day, he didn’t.

♞♟T♡♛

It was a pretty average morning, by all standards. Logan got up at six on the dot as usual, a time the other Sides may as well have never heard of. He didn’t mind being alone. Relaxing with a book and a guilty spoonful or two of Crofters was more enjoyable without the ruckus the others were fond of causing.

As usual, Patton emerged from the cluttered mess that was his room around eight, fully dressed save for his cardigan, which was draped over one shoulder. He yawned and stretched as he moved around the kitchen, making breakfast. “Sleep well?” he called cheerfully as he put the water on to boil.

“Indeed,” Logan said, turning the page. “And you?”

“I slept like a dog.”

“Isn’t the idiom ‘sleep like a _log_ ’?”

“Why sleep like a dead tree, when you could sleep like a puppy?” Patton chuckled at his own slant rhyme, then dropped the spatula and scrambled to retrieve it. Logan shook his head in resignation. Some things changed; Patton never did.

“ _Little town, full of little people_ ,” Roman sang, bursting in through the door fifteen minutes later. “ _Waking up to say..._ ” He posed dramatically, waiting.

“ _Bonjour!_ ” Patton chirped obligingly.

Logan sighed. “Bonjour.”

“ _Bonjour, bonjour, bonjour!_ ” Patton giggled. “I love your enthusiasm in the morning, kiddo.”

Roman ran a hand through his hair. “I _am_ a perfect paragon of princely pizzazz,” he said in satisfaction.

“And abnormally adept at amalgamating alliterative utterances,” Logan commented, raising an eyebrow.

“Ama- amal-” Patton gave up and returned to making breakfast.

“Smells good,” Roman enthused, plopping down in his seat at the table. “I can’t wait to dig in.”

“Beauty sleep must be exhausting,” Patton agreed cheerfully. “Eggs?”

“Yes!” Roman helped himself as Logan took his place and reached for the toast. “Y’know,” he continued through a full mouth, “it isn’t easy waking up this handsome every day.”

“You _definitely_ didn’t wake up like that.” Nobody turned to face Virgil as he entered except Patton, who dropped his spatula again but didn’t move to pick it up. “I could hear you messing around in the bathroom the whole time you were in there,” the once-dark Side continued through a yawn.

Patton made a stifled squeaking noise.

“At least _I_ don’t come down to breakfast looking like a hot mess,” Roman huffed.

Virgil huffed back at him, in a tone as close to amusement as he could get first thing in the morning. “Do you _actually_ know any pickup lines, or are you just going to keep calling me hot?”

Roman spluttered. Then he looked behind Logan and choked.

“Is your airway blocked?” Logan asked in concern. Roman shook his head, but continued working his jaw. He pointed wordlessly. Logan turned.

Virgil stood in the doorway, mouth gaping in a yawn. He’d clearly just gotten up - his hair was a complete mess, there was no makeup on his face, and he was wearing black pajama pants with purple spiderweb patterns under his patchwork hoodie - and he blinked sluggishly. Nothing out of the ordinary, certainly - except that all of it was at least a foot lower than on every other morning.

Logan opened and closed his mouth, speechless.

Virgil raised an eyebrow. “ _What?_ ” he demanded.

“You… you...” Roman waved a hand vaguely. “Did you _shrink?_ ”

Virgil’s eyes widened. He looked down at himself, then groaned and facepalmed. “ _Crud._ ”

“What exactly is going on?” Logan asked, regaining his voice. “Thomas isn’t even awake yet, what is the point of your… change?”

Virgil sighed. “This is my natural height.”

“ _What?_ ” Roman burst out laughing. “You mean to tell me that Virgil ‘Grumpy Purple Giant’ Sanders is actually a _midget?_ ”

Virgil hissed at him.

“Now Roman, there’s no need to be rude,” Patton said disapprovingly.

“This is why I change my height every morning,” Virgil mumbled.

“Fascinating,” Logan mused. “You shapeshift into a taller version of yourself to avoid being teased, but also to maintain a more intimidating appearance, correct?” Virgil just blinked at him, so he continued. “Your height impeded your idea of a dark, edgy persona. Thus, you changed it so you would have an easier time getting Thomas on edge when necessary. Is that accurate?”

Virgil puffed out his cheeks and let them deflate in resignation. “Yeah, that’s about it.”

“ _Obviously_ ,” Roman snickered. “Who could be scared of _that_ guy? _What?_ ” he demanded as Patton shook his head at him. “I’m just stating a _fact_. It’s like being threatened by an emo gnome.”

“Say goodbye to your kneecaps,” Virgil growled, taking a few threatening steps forward.

Patton intercepted him. “He just means that you’re a lot more approachable at this height,” he soothed. Logan noted that the formerly shortest Side was now taller by five inches at least.

“That’s kind of what I’m _not_ going for?” Virgil wrinkled his nose. “I’m Thomas’s anxiety. I’m not _supposed_ to be cute and cuddly, or whatever you’re calling me in your head right now.”

Patton tilted his head, eyes twinkling. “Are you _sure_ cuddly is a bad thing in this case?” He spread his arms invitingly.

Virgil stared at him, then sighed. “Fine. Do whatever you’ve gotta do.”

“ _Eee!_ ” Patton squealed, engulfing the other Side in a big hug. “I’m sorry, but you’re just so darn _huggable_ when you’re this size!”

“You do seem easier for him to hug now that you're not towering over him,” Logan commented.

Virgil made a face at him, but didn’t attempt to break loose. It was only when Roman got up and rather forcibly threw his arms around both of them that he protested. “Oof! _Roman._ ”

“I will _not_ be left out of a Patton hug this early in the morning,” Roman said huffily. “And he’s right. You’re soft. Are you ninety percent hoodie?”

“Pretty much.” Virgil looked over at Logan. “Well?”

Logan sighed. “Very well.” He got up and joined the hug.

He wouldn’t admit it, of course, but moments like this - when everyone was happy and accepting, even Virgil - made him question his statement that he lacked feelings. And of course, it was nice to be part of hugs. They were very beneficial. 

“Wait,” Roman said suddenly. “What’s Thomas going to say when he sees Virgil like this?”

Virgil’s only response was a groan.

**Author's Note:**

> Whoops, hoodie made for Tall Virgil + Actual Height Virgil = short arms and long sleeves, guess who has sweater paws...
> 
> ihavenoregrets


End file.
